Blackjack Surrender strategy

When you’re using the optimal blackjack strategy, basic strategy, the first thing you should always ask yourself in a hand is whether or not you should use surrender. It’s very common that blackjack players wrongly choose not to use the option. This is due to the fact that surrender means giving up the hand, which most people don’t want to as the goal should always be to try and win the hand, isn’t that so?

Actually, it isn’t. The goal with the basic strategy is to play in a mathematically correct way so that winnings are maximized and losses minimized. By using the surrender option in a correct way you’re able to minimize your losses over time and will therefore benefit from using it.

In the following article we’ll explain more about what the surrender option is and how it’s used at the table; when it’s mathematically correct for you to use it, as well as how much you’re able to lower the house edge by using it correctly.

When you should use surrender

When it’s mathematically correct for you to use surrender partially depends on if it’s late or early surrender that’s offered at the table. The number of decks in play and the table rules do however also play an important role. In late surrender it’s possible to reduce the house edge by 0,07% with the use of the optimal strategy, basic strategy.

In the table below you’re able to see when it’s mathematically correct to use the surrender option if it’s late surrender that is offered. If there’s only one deck in play and the table rules state that the dealer has to hit on soft 17, you will for instance find that the only hand value that is correct to surrender is 16, which is only mathematically correct to do when the dealer is showing a 10 or an ace.

Please note that the pair 8 – 8 isn’t included in the stated value of 16, but is separated and stated as 8 – 8 in the table below whenever it’s correct to give up such a hand. This is for instance the case when two decks are in play and the table rules are H17, NDAS. Please also note that this is the only time when the table rule of being allowed to double after a split or not has any impact on whether or not a hand should be surrendered.

When early surrender is being offered, this is way better for us players as we’re able to reduce the house edge as much as 0.63%. You’ll find that the number of hands that are mathematically correct to give up are a lot more in early surrender than in late. To illustrate the correct decisions in the best possible way, the table of early surrender below therefore looks different than the one for late surrender above.

Nevertheless you’ll be able to easily find out which hands are mathematically correct to give up when early surrender is being offered at the table. A green column means that the hand should be surrendered no matter what the table rules are, whereas a yellow column means that the hand should only be surrender when the table rule S17 is in play. NDAS stands for “no doubling after split”, which shows that surrender is only correct to use if it’s not allowed to double after a split.

If your starting hand for instance has a value of 5, it’s mathematically correct to surrender this hand when the dealer is showing an ace, no matter how many decks are being used. If you have 8 – 8 and two decks are in play, it’s only correct to surrender the hand against the dealer’s ace if the table rules state that the dealer must hit on soft 17 and no doubling after a split is allowed.